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Tuesday, May 31, 2016

The Final Soiree

If you're reading this right now thank you for following along with this "project" for the past 5 years. This is really difficult to write and it wasn't an easy decision, but I'm ending Project Soiree (yes, you read that correctly). With countless tears being shed right now this will be my final blog post.

After 5 years I'm ending Project Soiree because deep down I know the timing is right to say goodbye and begin a new venture. I started Project Soiree as a 20 something in a new city and this space will forever be full of amazing memories and experiences in Chicago. Project Soiree was a huge part of my life, and again I thank you for riding along on this journey of mine. When I started the blog during Snowmageddon I had no idea I would still be writing 5 years later. The blogging experience has honestly been life changing and worth the early mornings and late nights editing photos and writing these posts.

To my sister Kelli we've come a long way since that first snowy photo shoot in your backyard with Leland. Thank you for putting up with my endless requests for photo shoots, driving around finding the perfect location and countless hours editing photos. Your love and support for this project will always be appreciated beyond words. In those moments of struggling to find what to wear or what to write you reminded me why I started this in the first place - to treat life like a party and just have fun. Thank you for always being my #1 fan.

To the Windy City Blogger Collective thank you for being such an amazing community of support for bloggers. Without the guidance and friendship from other bloggers Project Soiree wouldn't be where it is today. At the end of the day building a community with others, teaching and learning from each other is what life is all about. Those weekly happy hour events and conferences in Chicago will always be cherished.

To all you bloggers out there (that I've met in person, online or haven't yet met) keep it up. I continue to read blogs every day for insight into new products, ideas to style my clothes and inspiration for my new home. Being a blogger isn't easy, but I hope you know your voice and opinions matter. Those countless hours writing, shooting a post, editing photos and promoting your post are totally worth it. Trust me.

At the end of the day I hope you learned a little something reading Project Soiree. My intent in sharing my goals, recipes or even my outfit posts was to inspire you to try something new. Those scary moments of moving to a new city or traveling out of the country by myself were made easier when I knew I had people supporting those dreams along the way. Project Soiree helped push me out of my comfort zone, meet new people and set higher expectations for what I wanted from my life. Thank you for supporting those somewhat crazy 101 goals (especially Kelli going parasailing) and encouraging me to keep crossing things off. I just started a new 101 things in 1001 days and I fully intend to keep pursuing them.

I kept this quote from Shauna Niequist (one of my favorite authors) on my About page as the intent and inspiration behind Project Soiree. I hope you choose joy and continually celebrate life.

"It's rebellious, in a way to choose joy, to choose to dance, to choose to love your life. It's much easier and much more common to be miserable. But I choose to do what I can do to create hope, to celebrate life, and the act of celebrating connects me back to that life I love."

I started this blog with champagne and I'm ending it with champagne to celebrate an ending but also a new beginning. Stay tuned for the launch of The GR Guide this summer. Cheers to 5 years of amazing experiences, new friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

8 comments:

wow! This is a total shock. While I am a little sad to see you go, I am happy that I came across your blog. I read it every day and followed you throughout the latter part of this journey. thank you for giving me something to look forward to every morning and for sharing your life with me. Good luck to you and all your future endeavors.

You have been a true inspiration to me in the blogging community and I feel blessed beyond words to have met you. I enjoy everything about who you aren what you pursue in life! The GRGuide will be amazing and everything you want it to be...well b/c you're amazing!! Cheers girl!

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